Electrochromic technology has gained significant attention due to its wide applications in smart windows, adjustable optoelectronic devices, and energy storage systems. The strategic incorporation of porous architectures has emerged as a pivotal approach for enhancing electrochromic material performance. This approach effectively addresses critical challenges, including volume expansion mitigation, stability enhancement, and ion transport efficiency optimization, thereby improving both electrical conductivity and response kinetics. This review systematically examines principal strategies and synthesis methodologies for developing porous electrochromic materials. First, nanoparticle-stacked particulate films demonstrate enhanced electrolyte permeability through their inherent porous configurations, significantly increasing accessible reactive sites. Second, template-assisted approaches utilizing hard templates (e.g., polystyrene [PS] nanospheres, silica nanospheres) and soft templates (e.g., cetyltrimethylammonium bromide [CTAB], polyethylene glycol [PEG]) enable precise pore size regulation while effectively mitigating structural deformation. Third, coordination modulation strategies involving the length adjustment of organic ligands and the functionalization of metal/organic centers facilitate the fabrication of nanocrystalline mesoporous materials with uniform pore distribution, offering tailored electrochromic optimization pathways. Through in-depth analysis of these porous design strategies, this review elucidates the critical structure-performance relationships between porous architectures and electrochromic behaviors. The findings provide valuable guidance for the rational synthesis of high-performance electrochromic materials, thereby advancing the development of next-generation electrochromic technologies.

Rechargeable aqueous aluminum batteries (AABs) with high energy-to-price ratios, abundant element reserves, and intrinsic safety are promising candidates for large-scale energy storage. However, the inherent hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) of aluminum (Al) metal anode with inferior kinetics irreversibly hinders their practical implementation. Herein, we propose, for the first time, a double interfacial layer on the Al anode with drastically reduced HER and accelerated kinetics for AABs. Benefiting from the large band gap of the dual-interfacial layer (integration of Sn and SnS (SS-Al)), the stable voltage window of the electrolyte is remarkably expanded with the potential negatively shifting from −2.34 to −2.98 V at −5.0 mA/cm². Furthermore, the synergistic effect from both the SnS outer layer (lower desolvation energy barrier) and the Sn interlayer with improved aluminumophilic properties contributes to accelerated kinetics. Consequently, the optimized SS-Al electrode maintains one of the best long-term stability among interface-modified Al anodes (more than 700 h at 0.05 mA/cm² with a low initial overpotential of 50.0 mV) in symmetric batteries. Practically, the large-size full-cell prototypes deliver high performance over 1,000 cycles at 1.0 A/g. Overall, this novel interface modification strategy provides a promising pathway for the anode development in AABs.

The wound healing process is often hindered by bacterial infection and excessive inflammation, impeding normal tissue repair and bringing a huge medical burden. Various treatment strategies, including antibiotics and wound dressings, have been developed to address these challenges. However, these approaches often suffer from limitations such as antibiotic resistance, insufficient immune regulation, and poor wound microenvironment modulation, leading to unsatisfactory therapeutic outcomes. Here, we designed and synthesized a kind of endocytosed zinc ion-glycine (ZnGly) self-templated nanoparticles (NPs) through a simple self-template method, which exhibited excellent antibacterial and immunomodulatory properties. ZnGly NPs showed a pH-responsive behavior, allowing for rapid release of bioactive components in the acidic environment of lysosomes. ZnGly NPs with good cytocompatibility effectively modulated macrophage polarization, enhancing the expression of anti-inflammatory factors while inhibiting the expression of pro-inflammatory factors. Interestingly, mechanistic studies revealed that ZnGly NPs alleviated LPS-induced inflammatory responses by promoting Cl⁻ influx, inhibiting Ca²⁺ influx, and then regulating the NF-κB signaling pathway. Furthermore, ZnGly NPs killed free bacteria and removed biofilm efficiently. The infected wound-healing promotion of ZnGly NPs was validated in an infected mouse skin model, highlighting the therapeutic potential of antibiosis and immunoregulation. Overall, the pH-responsive ZnGly NPs possess great potential in managing bacterial-infected wound healing.

Even though existing near-infrared probes have successfully achieved deep tissue imaging with high contrast, it remains challenging to image many species simultaneously under complicated biological conditions. We rationally design and synthesize a series of nonamethine dyes featuring a unique double meso-Cl structure, which can covalently bind to proteins, resulting in significant fluorescence enhancement, thereby further filling a critical gap of multicolor fluorescent proteins (FPs) in 915 nm channel bioimaging. NIR-940 exhibits distinct binding sites and modes with HSA compared to heptamethine dyes, which likely contributes to its high albumin binding efficiency. Given that FPs enhance fluorescence emission of the chromophore and are entirely dependent on the metabolic behavior of the host protein, this approach allows for the development of customized FPs tailored to specific imaging needs—an advantage unmatched by other NIR-I/II contrast agents. By selecting various NIR-I and NIR-II chromophores with spectrally distinguishable emissions, we construct a multi-channel imaging platform based entirely on FPs and validated its robustness and versatility in monitoring various physiological states across multiple local and systemic imaging applications, including the mesentery, retroperitoneal region, and stroke-affected mouse brain.

The development of advanced information storage materials with spatiotemporal security features is critical to address the growing demand for high-level encryption and anti-counterfeiting protection. Herein, two types of 4D-printed fluorescent hydrogels that exhibit time-gated hierarchical morphing and color-varying dual functions, driven solely by temperature, have been successfully developed. Specifically, for the first one, the target blooming state of Hydrogels A is realized under 365 nm UV light through synchronized hierarchical morphing and graded fluorescence color transition (orange→blue). For the second one, under 254 nm UV irradiation, doped Hydrogels B exhibit reversible hierarchical state switching between bloomed and closed configurations, accompanied by dynamic multicolor fluorescence modulation. These promising results originate from spatially gradient crosslinking networks precisely engineered via vat photopolymerization (VP) 3D printing, and specially-designed luminescent chromophores, collectively enabling fluorescent hydrogels to achieve an all-in-one stimulus response integrating “shape morphing—multicolor fluorescence—information encryption” under thermal activation. Thus, a unique “codebook”—a time-dependent dual-parameter encryption system can be developed using these 4D-printed fluorescent hydrogels, by dynamically adjusting bending angles and fluorescence ratios, effectively enabling high-security spatiotemporal information protection. The integration of time-gated shape-shifting and multicolor fluorescence enhances encryption complexity through multi-layered protection. 4D-printed fluorescent hydrogels enable this bimodal spatiotemporal strategy, preventing unauthorized access while enabling novel secure storage approaches.

Disease diagnosis and health monitoring are crucial for safeguarding human health. However, environmental factors significantly threaten human health, such as water pollution and food safety issues, necessitating rigorous monitoring systems and biomedical solutions. Serving as a powerful detection technique, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy is deeply combined with environmental and biomedical detection due to its high selectivity and sensitivity. Among various SERS substrates, heterojunction structures are practical and promising due to their outstanding optical and electrical properties. This review outlines recent advancements in heterojunction SERS substrates with the classification by the components, including the semiconductor-semiconductor (S-S) and semiconductor-metal (S-M). The synthesis strategy, enhancement mechanism and applications of the various emerging heterojunctions are summarized carefully, where the applications span environmental monitoring, food safety, and biomedical detection. Despite progress, challenges remain in optimizing synthesis methods, exploring new material combinations to further boost SERS performance, and refining functionality for practical application.

Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), an essential serine hydrolase playing critical functions in both neurobiological processes and toxicological responses, has gained recognition as a crucial biomarker for detecting hepatic impairment, Alzheimer's disease (AD), and exposure to organophosphates. Fluctuations in BChE activity are closely linked to pathological progression, and decreased levels can indicate hepatic impairment, while elevated BChE in the brain is associated with β-amyloid plaque deposition in AD. Therefore, this review critically examines state-of-the-art detection technologies for BChE, categorizing them into traditional direct enzymatic assays and advanced next-generation platforms. These include near-infrared fluorescent probes, CRISPR-coupled biosensors, and nanomaterial-enhanced systems, which offer enhanced sensitivity and specificity. Besides, the diverse applications of these technologies span precision diagnostics, such as PET imaging for AD-associated BChE, high-throughput drug discovery for inhibitors and reactivator screening, and analytical screening of agroecosystems to quantify organophosphate pesticide residues in harvested crops. Hence, this study provides a strategic framework for selecting appropriate BChE detection methods tailored to specific clinical, pharmacological, or environmental applications. Furthermore, it advocates for interdisciplinary collaborations to effectively translate laboratory innovations into impactful real-world solutions.